The 7-Day Detox

Are you on a Detox diet? Everyone here in Toronto seems to be atone time or another...

Recently, one of my clients told me about his detox plans.

For 7 days of the year, he buys a detox kit and follows theinstructions to cut out all alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and refinedcarbohydrates - all while taking some supplements to help"detoxify" the liver and kidneys and extra fiber to help cleansethe colon.

Now I don't mind this client doing this, because he is a modelclient and follows a very healthy lifestyle all year round. At 40,his blood measures are very healthy, he lost a few pounds of bodyfat last year, and despite being in a high-stress financial job, heis a picture of great health.

Is the detox going to significantly improve his health? No, notreally. And most of them aren't dangerous either, but a 7-day detoxwon't reverse 40 years or even 1 year of a poor lifestyle.

I'll admit, Detox diets might help kick-start your weight lossprogram, but just realize that they are not a quick fix to yourhealth problems. The long-term fix is dumping the Western Lifestyle.

Besides, if you think you can actually remove all the toxins inyour body, you are being fooled. It can never happen. Every breathyou take, every move you make, you are creating waste products inyour body.

And many toxins are fat-soluble - meaning they are stored in ourfat cells for months, and slowly released over time. So you'llnever truly detoxify...but enough of science class...

Just remember: 7 days of the cleanest living can't reverse 51 weeksof the Western Lifestyle - you have to make healthy living afull-time lifestyle. It is much better to spend all year avoidingas much crap as possible, than to try and sort it out in one week.

So let's take your new healthy lifestyle week-by-week with the7-day fat loss plan.

Day 1 In today's Turbulence Training workout, choose an alternative formof interval cardio for this workout.

For example, if you are a beginner, and you have been doing onlywalking for cardio, try and use the elliptical machine orstairmaster today. This is called cross-training and helps avoidoveruse injuries caused by doing the same thing over and over againwhen you aren't prepared for it. If you are advanced, try some ofthe bodyweight circuits in place of running or cycling intervals.

To do bodyweight circuits, pick 3 lower body and 3 upper bodyexercises, and alternate between them. Do 10 reps of a lower bodyexercise, then 10 reps of an upper body exercise, and so on.

Go through the 6 exercise circuit 3 times for a 15 minute session.

Day 2Between Turbulence Training workouts, take a day off from the gym.

On your off days, your exercise requirement is just 30 minutes offun activity. It can be traditional cardio, sports, or bodyweightexercise.

In addition, you need to clean out cupboards. Do NOT be afraid tothrow out food - if it's garbage food, it's better in the trashbinthan in your fat cells.

Since we've been inspired by the 300 Movie Workout lately, I wantyou to make a small change to your workout today and reduce therest intervals between sets. For today only, take no more than 30seconds rest between exercises. Get your workout done in recordtime. Do a full warm-up before training though, of course!

Day 4Another off-day from the gym (whether you train at a mega-gym or inthe comfort of your own home gym).

Choose an activity and have at least 30 minutes of fun. Yoga isgreat as well, to help reduce work-related stress.

In addition, let's make one more nutrition change. Today, I wantyou to eat one new fruit and one new vegetable. If you aren'talready eating grapefruit, try one today and see how it helps fillyou up because it contains a lot of soluble fiber called pectin.

Add a new vegetable, such as steamed asparagus or broccoli to yourdinner.

Day 5Do your last Turbulence Training workout of the week today. Ialways like to slip in an extra superset on the last workout of theweek. Pick your favorite biceps and triceps exercises and do themback to back for 3 supersets of 8 reps each.

Day 6For most of you, this will be the weekend. That means you shouldhave extra time to check in with your social support group.

So why not meet up with a friend that is also trying to lose fatand/or build muscle and talk about what is working for you andwhere you are struggling. Essentially, its your fat loss mastermindgroup!

As part of your meeting, choose a fun activity that you both wantto do for at least 30 minutes. Make this activity-based meeting aregular habit on the weekend.

Day 7Get an early start on the day with 30 minutes of a fun activity -and yes, walking around shopping can count towards your 30 minutesof activity - and then prepare your meals for the rest of the week.

Plan, shop, & prepare for the week ahead. Make sure to include 1new fruit and 1 new vegetable on your grocery list.

Getting this done early allows you to spend the rest of the dayoutdoors, or going to church and socializing with friends after, orspending the better part of the day with your family.

Remember that Turbulence Training is all about creating the optimalfat loss lifestyle - giving you more fat loss results in lessworkout time while freeing up your life to spend doing the thingsyou love with the people you love in the body that you love!

PS. Who else wants to change their body and have the confidence tobe seen in a swimsuit this summer?

"I have lost eight pounds in the last eight days and will neverstop with this workout! I will change it every few weeks as yousuggest but by doing the 20 minute intervals and increasing myweights by a minimum of 25% I have accomplished what you said wouldhappen! Many thanks for your guidance and encouragement!"Peter Regenye

"I am actually getting twice the results in half the time. As aserious gym junkie with little imagination finding your workoutshas been a welcome breath of fresh air. I no longer feel bound tothe gym struggling for the smallest result. My body and I are inthis together now. Your workouts are interesting and make me feelstrong in practical ways. It's more like a game of testing mycapabilities, not another boring workout. On top of that I can'tpraise your customer service highly enough, you have been amazing!I never expected such quick personal responses to my emails. Forthe price I paid, I have received so much more than I anticipated.Many thanks and all the best."Heidi Sinclair

"I have been using your TT workouts for about 6 weeks now and Inever want anything different! I've lost 6 kilograms already: Iwent from 95 kilograms to 89! What I love about TT is the variety.All the different workouts, all the different excercises, they'reall great." Jesse van der Velde

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